architects and urban designers

Waterloo Road Bridge

Location: Blackpool UK

Programme: 2008

Client: ReBlackpool/Gillespies

Contract Value: £3m

The approach to Blackpool gives opportunity to see the famous tower, until the final route along the central corridor car parks. ReBlackpool asked for the tower to be made more visible, and the level change from the former railway cutting up to town level to be eased.

Beginning with the challenge of replacing a substandard bridge structure, Arca blurred the upper and lower levels with a continuous new public space. Dubbed ‘the Dunes’, its flowing lines delineated differing ground textures – stone, aggregate, sand and concrete, and terracing. These new contours extended onto the low-profile bridge deck which when combined with bespoke barrier treatments, ensured the tower was revealed once more.